Business Briefing / Courts

Stanford executive to plead guilty

A former top executive for Stanford Financial Group plans to plead guilty to three criminal fraud charges related to an alleged $7-billion Ponzi scheme, his lawyer said.

James Davis, college roommate of Texas financier R. Allen Stanford and chief financial officer for Stanford Financial Group and its Antiguan bank, has agreed to plead guilty, his lawyer David Finn told CNBC.

The Justice Department charged Davis last month with helping Stanford run a Ponzi scheme involving certificates of deposit in the Antiguan bank. Stanford has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges and is in jail awaiting trial, currently set to start in August.

Finn said Davis' arraignment was set for July 13.

Davis has been cooperating with U.S. investigators for several months, Finn has said.